1. Field of Disclosed Subject Matter
This disclosure relates to systems and methods for forming and implementing book binding geometries as a function of image receiving medium stack thicknesses for automated book binding in image forming devices.
2. Related Art
Myriad methodologies are implemented for document finishing. Certain of these finishing document finishing methodologies implement book binding techniques for providing book-type bound documents as completed and finished products. In in-line bookbinding equipment that may be associated with certain sophisticated image forming devices as post-processing and/or finishing devices, a number of different techniques and materials may be employed.
Wire binding is among the most popular commercial document book binding methods albeit that it can be difficult to implement is smaller scale applications. With this book binding method, punched pages may be inserted onto a shaped wire spine. A wire closer is then employed to squeeze the shaped wire spine until the shaped wire spine is rounded providing both a functional apparatus for securing the finished and bound book-type image product, and an aesthetically pleasing look to the finished and bound book-type image product. Conventionally, documents that are bound with wire binding will open completely flat on a desk and allow for unimpeded rotation of bound pages through 360 degrees to allow the opened pages to be folded back on the book in a familiar manner.
Another common commercial binding method employs a pre-fabricated plastic “comb” spine appliance binding that may be provided in one or more discrete “standard” diameters according to a proposed finished book-type document overall thickness. This method is less flexible, but somewhat easier to implement on a smaller scale of overall image forming and finishing operations. The overall thickness to be secured by any such appliance is based on a number of pages and a thickness of each image receiving medium substrate comprising the individual pages, as well as any separately provided front or back cover page elements, which may be of differing thicknesses. Comb binding appliances represent a most common way today to bind the pages together into a book-type finished document today as they are functional, aesthetically pleasing and generally easy to handle in finishing the book-type document. Standardly, comb binding appliances may use round plastic spines with 19 rings for standard letter size document pages and 21 rings for standard A4 size document pages. A cooperative page punching apparatus is typically employed to align the pages and to drill the stacks of pages with sets of rectangular holes. To bind a multi-page document, an appliance is employed to first punch the holes in the set of pages comprising the finished book-type document. Pages may be punched as a full set or may be punched a few pages at a time. In instances where rigid, or otherwise semi-rigid, cover components may be provided, the cover components may be punched as well.
Typically, based on a limited number of discrete standard diameter size binder comb appliances, a user is forced to choose a spine size that may not precisely match a thickness of the finished book-type document. Standard sizes available for the plastic comb binding appliances may include, for example, a 3/16 inch diameter for binding 10 sheets of 20# paper in discrete sizes up to typically 2 inches in diameter for binding more than 400 sheets 20# paper, with appropriate section dividers and front and back cover elements. A difficulty arises in that rarely will a size of the plastic comb binding appliance closely match a thickness of the finished book-type document that it binds.
In plastic comb binding, rings on the plastic comb spine open in order that the pages comprising the finished book-type document may be mounted thereon. With plastic comb binding, as with wire binding, the plastic comb is configured in a manner that allows the finished bound book to lie substantially flat, but potentially not opened to a full 360 degrees. For a book that can be opened such that the covers touch, a spine that does not have an obstructive body, such as a wire coil binding may be considered a preferable option, albeit that it may be more difficult to implement.